Recent Devotions
“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:42, ESV) Recently, my sleep was interrupted by a single beep. Then long seconds of silence. Did I really hear something? Beep. More silence. Finally, I forced myself out of bed to find the source of the annoying beep. I suspected a dead battery in either the smoke alarm or the carbon monoxide detector. I knew I was safe, but I needed to take care of the alarm. The next time, it might signal a real emergency. We are surrounded by a variety of…
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew…
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of…
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“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Colossians 3:17 The Greek word for “name” in the verse above is onoma, which means “name, character, reputation, authority.” According to Hebrew tradition, a person’s name is inseparable from the person to whom is belongs: thus, a name contains something of the essence of its owner. This is partially why the revelation of the name of Jehovah (Jesus Christ) in the New Testament is so momentous, and also why this command in Colossians is…
“And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39-40 The previous verses describe some of the terrible things that the followers of God suffered because of their beliefs. Yet they stood faithful even when it often meant their death. Verse 38 says “the world was not worthy of them.” As we read of what they went through, we must remember that they did not have the teachings of Jesus that we have today. Jesus had not yet…
“Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?” 2 Kings 18:19 NLT As I read this chapter of 2 Kings, this verse stood out to me. The Assyrian king spent a lot of time mocking and taunting Hezekiah and no matter what price Hezekiah offered to pay, it was never enough. Another battle was just on the horizon. The question is then posed to Hezekiah “What are you trusting in that makes you so…
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17, NKJV) How much of our lives are controlled by habits? Probably more than we think. Whether we admit it or not, most of us are creatures of habit. A habit is a pattern of behavior that we develop by repetition. We have certain things we do each day or at certain times. Some of these are good habits, while others may not be so good. HEALTHY HABITS Because it is important to take care of my body, I have…
